So where does everyone buy their cheap winter hacks from?
Discussion
A mix from me. Word of mouth. Family. Ebay.
I ran an FZS600 Fazer (early one) for a few years through some hard winters and it utterly ruined what was a mint bike. That was bought from a work mate, who wasn't happy in the end because he could see it deteriorating! Think i paid about £1800 for it on 20k. Sold it a couple of years later on 34k for about a grand with camchain rattle (i didn't keep on top of oil top-ups!)
Next up i bought a VFR800Fi via ebay, which was a trade in at the local BMW dealer. Bid £1400 for it and got it. 32k miles, good history.I ran it for 2 yrs as the main/hack bike. In that time it had tyres and oil/filter changes. That was all. Sold for £1400 on 45k miles. Condition was the same after a few winters as when i bought it.
I did spend more and buy a K1300S from that BMW dealer as my main bike after the VFR, but the finish really, REALLY didn't tolerate bad weather. I didn't even try it during salty conditions - i can imagine it would have ruined it. Even water would stain the exhaust really badly to the point of needing to take the can off and polish it with metal polish, and make the fasteners would go rusty unless dried off immediately. It was very high maintenance to keep it pretty. At that point i got rid of it before it deteriorated further.
Now running a blackbird that used to belong to my dad. Bought from him for £2k (what he paid for it) on 32k miles. 2001 FI and digi dash model in blue (the one to have IMO). It's brilliant. Now on 37k and just needed tyres and oil/filter during that time. I expect to be able to add another 10k-20k miles and sell it for the same money.
I would up your budget. There are some great buys out there, but better to buy something that you won't have to spend money making reliable/usable.
I ran an FZS600 Fazer (early one) for a few years through some hard winters and it utterly ruined what was a mint bike. That was bought from a work mate, who wasn't happy in the end because he could see it deteriorating! Think i paid about £1800 for it on 20k. Sold it a couple of years later on 34k for about a grand with camchain rattle (i didn't keep on top of oil top-ups!)
Next up i bought a VFR800Fi via ebay, which was a trade in at the local BMW dealer. Bid £1400 for it and got it. 32k miles, good history.I ran it for 2 yrs as the main/hack bike. In that time it had tyres and oil/filter changes. That was all. Sold for £1400 on 45k miles. Condition was the same after a few winters as when i bought it.
I did spend more and buy a K1300S from that BMW dealer as my main bike after the VFR, but the finish really, REALLY didn't tolerate bad weather. I didn't even try it during salty conditions - i can imagine it would have ruined it. Even water would stain the exhaust really badly to the point of needing to take the can off and polish it with metal polish, and make the fasteners would go rusty unless dried off immediately. It was very high maintenance to keep it pretty. At that point i got rid of it before it deteriorated further.
Now running a blackbird that used to belong to my dad. Bought from him for £2k (what he paid for it) on 32k miles. 2001 FI and digi dash model in blue (the one to have IMO). It's brilliant. Now on 37k and just needed tyres and oil/filter during that time. I expect to be able to add another 10k-20k miles and sell it for the same money.
I would up your budget. There are some great buys out there, but better to buy something that you won't have to spend money making reliable/usable.
Edited by PTF on Tuesday 1st October 08:20
I bought a zzr600 for <£600 on eBay with the intention of running it thought winter.
Ran rough as hell so tried to sort out the carbs (first time playing with carbs). Before taking it for a proper ride. Put it back together and it sounded like it was running better, took it for a spin and after the first roundabout it misfired a couple of times before all the electrics died.
Haven’t had the time to touch it since.
If you want trouble free riding it might pay to spend a bit more, there’s a reason most people are willing to shift these bikes for very little (I probably buggered up more with my tinkering though!)
Ran rough as hell so tried to sort out the carbs (first time playing with carbs). Before taking it for a proper ride. Put it back together and it sounded like it was running better, took it for a spin and after the first roundabout it misfired a couple of times before all the electrics died.
Haven’t had the time to touch it since.
If you want trouble free riding it might pay to spend a bit more, there’s a reason most people are willing to shift these bikes for very little (I probably buggered up more with my tinkering though!)
Well this is going to be my first year commuting in the winter and I have given the bike (V-Strom 650) a good clean, covered it in xcp rust blocker and I’ll see how it looks come spring.
The bike is a 2007 with 20k so only worth about £2k, probably what some of you would class as a hack, but I don’t like the thought of pcp and I’m not really able to spend much more than £2k at the moment so I’ll have to make do.
The bike is a 2007 with 20k so only worth about £2k, probably what some of you would class as a hack, but I don’t like the thought of pcp and I’m not really able to spend much more than £2k at the moment so I’ll have to make do.
Rubin215 said:
Wonder if he fancies a dog and a ps4 for it. 
In the last 2 weeks my brother has bought from gumtree
CBR600 in good condition £300
CBR 1000 great condition and with full givi luggage £600
VN800 again great condition £400
He goes through the adds and offers half what they ask, then haggles anyone who replies.
Buys about 10 or 15 a year.
CBR600 in good condition £300
CBR 1000 great condition and with full givi luggage £600
VN800 again great condition £400
He goes through the adds and offers half what they ask, then haggles anyone who replies.
Buys about 10 or 15 a year.
SAS Tom said:
My take on it is that yes you can find a working bike for less than a grand but they tend to be crap bikes like Diversions and other crap where you’d have more fun in a car.
You can get good bikes for less than a grand but they tend to need work and end up costing more than a grand.
Yeah, I did this a few years back now, it was fun initially but my God I saw some sYou can get good bikes for less than a grand but they tend to need work and end up costing more than a grand.
te. When I have a long hard think about it there is nothing I'd actually want to keep for that kinda money. I've been looking Gumtree again and the prices have rocketed.
Brads67 said:
In the last 2 weeks my brother has bought from gumtree
CBR600 in good condition £300
CBR 1000 great condition and with full givi luggage £600
VN800 again great condition £400
He goes through the adds and offers half what they ask, then haggles anyone who replies.
Buys about 10 or 15 a year.
And presumably only the mentally ill actually agree? What sane-minded individual would hand over a running, not cosmetically hideous bike for less than £1000?CBR600 in good condition £300
CBR 1000 great condition and with full givi luggage £600
VN800 again great condition £400
He goes through the adds and offers half what they ask, then haggles anyone who replies.
Buys about 10 or 15 a year.
Krikkit said:
And presumably only the mentally ill actually agree? What sane-minded individual would hand over a running, not cosmetically hideous bike for less than £1000?
The guy on Gumtree would who has stolen it from the guy on Facebook with the 'please look out for my bike' post !!!Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff